UNITED NATIONS, Feb 3 (APP): More than 1 billion teenagers and young adults are at risk of hearing loss due to the unsafe use of personal audio devices such as smartphones and exposure to damaging levels of sound, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to devote International Ear Care Day tomorrow to “Making Listening Safe”.

Resolution of Gaza crisis key to achieving Mideast peace: UN envoy -

UNITED NATIONS, March 3 (APP): Peace in the Middle East hinges on resolving the ongoing crisis in Gaza, where reconstruction efforts are faltering and the blockade continues, the U.N.’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process, Robert Serry, said Monday.

SANDAI CITY (Japan) March 2 (APP): The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Editor of Kahoku Shimpo Publishing Takada Shinichi said that Japanese media was enjoying complete freedom.

Obama to host Afghan president on March 24 -

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (APP): President Barack Obama will host Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Officer Abdullah, and key members of their unity government for meetings and a working lunch at the White House on March 24.

Women must be at the decision-making table at all levels: UN chief -

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 28 (APP): The world must unite to end violence and discrimination against women and girls, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged at a high-level event in Chile on women and decision-making Friday, citing that progress over the past two decades has been made slow and uneven.

ISLAMABAD,
March 3 (APP): Olympian Mohammad Karim of Pakistan has beaten his
Indian opponent Mohammad Arif in the giant slalom event of Asian Alpine
Ski Championship 2015, being held in Yongpyong, South Korea.

Drone war far from over even after Obama’s promise to rein in strikes:Ex-Pakistani diplomat

NEW YORK, May 31 (APP): A former Pakistani diplomat has urged the United States to put an end to U.S. drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Pakistan’s tribal areas to pave the way for rebuilding the crumbling pillars of tribal authority in an effort to stabilize the restive region. In an opinion piece published in The New York Times on Friday, Dr. Akbar Ahmed, former High Commissioner to Britain and the Islamic Studies chair at American University, noted President Barack Obama’s pledge to scale back the strikes, but said the “drone war is alive and well in the remote corners of Pakistan where the strikes have caused the greatest and most lasting damage.” “Drone strikes like Wednesday’s, in Waziristan, are destroying already weak tribal structures and throwing communities into disarray throughout Pakistan’s tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan,” Dr. Ahmed wrote.“The chaos and rage they produce endangers the Pakistani government and fuels anti-Americanism. And the damage isn’t limited to Pakistan. Similar destruction is occurring in other traditional tribal societies like Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen.

The tribes on the periphery of
these nations have long struggled for more autonomy from the central
government, first under colonial rule and later against the modern
state. The global war on terror has intensified that conflict. “These
tribal societies are organized into clans defined by common descent;
they maintain stability through similar structures of authority; and
they have defined codes of honor revolving around hospitality to guests
and revenge against enemies.” In recent decades, Dr. Ahmed wrote,
these societies have undergone huge disruptions as the traditional
leadership has come under attack by violent groups like the Taliban, Al
Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia’s Al Shabab, not to mention
full-scale military invasions. “America has deployed drones into
these power vacuums, causing ferocious backlashes against central
governments while destroying any positive image of the United States
that may have once existed. “American precision-guided missiles
launched into Pakistan’s Pashtun tribal areas aim to eliminate what are
called, with marvelous imprecision, the ‘bad guys’ ... In this context,
Dr. Ahmed underscored the need for relying on the three pillars of
authority that have traditionally provided stability in Pashtun tribal
society: elders, religious leaders and the central government. “Over
the past few decades, these pillars have weakened. And in 2004 ... the
pillars of authority began to crumble. “In the vacuum that followed,the
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Pakistani Taliban, emerged. Its first
targets were tribal authorities. Approximately 400 elders have been
killed in Waziristan alone, a near-decapitation of traditional society. “Mr.
Obama should not assume that his pledge to scale back the drone war
will have an appreciable impact on America’s image or Pakistan’s
security unless the strikes stop and the old pillars of tribal authority
can gradually be rebuilt.”